A Message from Death
by soitgoes-staygold
Summary: Dean Winchester and Steve Rogers have a conversation when neither of them can sleep only to then go their separate ways and encounter Death.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Marvel, DC, and the CW. All mistakes are my own.

The dull rhythmic thud coming from around the corner caused Dean to pause his steps. Early on Dean had found it wasn't rare to find someone awake in the early hours of the morning in the tower. However, Jason was the only one of them who elected to beat out his insomnia on a punching bag and the kid had left for Gotham two nights ago. Dean's green eyes narrowed as he heard the muted sound end with one solid punch, there was only three possibilities of who was on the other side of the gym door and Dean had been avoiding them all week. It was more difficult than he originally thought in a tower this size; Barton had nearly given him a few heart attacks when Dean would walk into a room and find the man perched on top of something, out of eyesight. Romanov was far too quiet and had that all knowing look about her that set Dean's teeth on edge. The redhead also reminded the hunter of Abbadon and frankly Dean was done with psychotic redheads for a while. However, neither of the agents struck Dean as the type to take out their stress on a punching bag, it seemed too old school and base for the high class assassins, which left Captain Rogers.

Dean suppressed a groan. He would admit to himself that he was a bit of a dick to Captain America the first time they met, he wasn't going to apologize however, not matter how many looks Coulson threw at him. Dean snorted, he was under enough pressure as it was without the added guilt of possibly hurting the Captain's precious, fragile, all-American feelings. The door to the gym opened causing Dean to stir out of his thoughts and come face to face with a sweaty, exhausted Steve Rogers. A wry grin crept across Dean's face at the look of shock the Captain gave him. They stared at each other in silence before Dean awkwardly cleared his throat, turning to leave, "Mr. Winchester," Rogers voice stopped him dead. "Dean, not Mr. Winchester," Dean grimaced, glancing back at Rogers. "Of course, thank you," Rogers gave him an uncomfortable smile before clearly gathering his will to push onwards much to Dean's irritation. "We haven't been properly introduced, Steve Rogers, and please call me Steve," Captain Rogers gave a warm smile as he held out his hand, waiting. Dean sighed, taking the Captain's hand and giving it a firm shake.

Silence once again permeated the air, making Dean shift uncomfortably. "I wanted to commend you on your fighting ability," Rogers began, holding eye contact with Dean, "not many people would be able to keep a level head in that sort of situation." Dean arched an eyebrow at Rogers, not willing to give the man an inch. It wasn't easy for Dean, the hunter was going against two decades worth of training, listening to the commanding officer without question. It was an instinct taking years to break, but Dean hadn't been in the habit of letting people tell him what to do for a while now and he wasn't about to let one complement, even if it was from Captain America, sway him into letting someone else take control. Their group worked based on the fact that they all were on equal ground and no hotshot superhero leader was going to change that.

Steve could see the belligerent set of Dean's jaw become impossibly more combative. The hunter's eyes were fierce and whatever was going through the man's head was more than likely not favorable towards Steve. The Captain withheld a sigh, he was grateful he would be able to talk with Dean away from a group setting, they needed to clear the air between them if team dynamics were going to work. Steve, however, was a little worried to see another person unable to sleep through the night, it seemed no one was able to escape the post battle stress with sleep. "I know it can be difficult to get thrown into a situation where you have to re-order your worldview, but it gets better, with a team who also understand, it gets better," Steve trailed off, realizing he wasn't getting the reaction out of Dean he'd expected. The hunter looked amused, one side of his mouth curled up while rolling his eyes, "Rogers, there's nothing I haven't seen that would make me reevaluate my worldview," Dean snorted. Steve straightened his shoulders, reassessing the man in front of him. Stark had called him a serial killer, but Steve knew to take everything Tony said about a person with a grain of salt. Steve wouldn't be the kid from Brooklyn if he didn't figure things out himself and he wouldn't be Captain America if he didn't give everyone a chance.

"I don't know much about you Dean, but you seem to be a man who has been through hell." "You have no idea," Dean mumbled, interrupting Steve. Steve released the sigh that had been building up, he hadn't read the files Tony had created on the four men, but he was starting to wish he had, maybe then he would have been better off at getting Dean to talk. As if reading his mind Dean spoke up, "you didn't read my file, did you." Steve confirmed the hunter's statement with a nod, eyes narrowing on Dean with intent, "I'd rather know a person with no previous biases," Steve said. Steve watched as Dean's stance relaxed minutely, green eyes losing their defiant light, but still suspicious. "No offence Cap, but I'm not really the spill my guts on the first date type," Dean drawled. A little smile graced Steve's face, he had overheard Dean bantering with Constantine and Deadpool, he took it as a good sign the hunter was relaxed enough to do it with him. "I'm not asking for your life story Dean, I doubt anyone could understand, we each have parts of ourselves we keep secret," Steve remarked with a sad smile, noticing Dean's furrowed brow and sharp eyes. Steve realized that he would have to give a little bit of himself if he was going to get anything from Dean.

"I'm sure you know my story, seems everyone does nowadays," Steve grimaced, he wasn't so sure about all the publicity he been forced to endure since being awakened. "Actually, I only really know the bare minimum. WWII hero, buried in ice for 70 years, recently awoken, leader of the Avengers and I only know that stuff cause of Sam, he would not shut up about you," Dean gave a wistful smile, "superheroes don't really need to be on my radar," Dean added with a shrug. Steve nodded, slightly confused. It was rare to come across someone who hadn't been paying attention to the exploits of the Avengers. "So, Sam's a fan," Steve commented, choosing to focus on the name that gave Dean the sentimental smile. Dean huffed a laugh, "yeah, the nerd couldn't stop talking about how they found you in the ice and what you accomplished during WWII. I, ugh, I would get him your comics when we were little, he liked reading them." Steve gave Dean a smile, realizing Sam was clearly Dean's younger brother. "He'd freak if I told him I met you. Then throw me a bitch face for being an ass," Dean made a face only older siblings can make when speaking about their younger siblings. "Where is he now?" Steve asked softly, this wasn't what he expected when their conversation started, but he was enjoying this glimpse of the hunter. "He's alive, but I gather that's not what you mean," Dean gave Steve a long look. "That's good to know, but no it's not," Steve conceded with a innocent shrug. "Got out of the business. It's what he's always wanted and what he deserves, the white picket fence life," Dean sighed, clearly thinking back on fond memories of his brother. Steve nodded, "I think Dean, we have more in common than you think," Steve commented, watching Dean's eyebrows arch in disbelief. "Not in our experiences, but in our reasons," Steve gave Dean a look of understanding before clapping the hunter on the shoulder and turning to leave.

The lights of Steve's suit flickered on as he walked into the living room only to stop dead as he noticed the man sitting at his kitchen table. "JARVIS," Steve called, hoping the AI was still functioning and there wasn't a security breach. "Yes, Captain Rogers," the British voice answered him. "Is the man sitting at my table suppose to be here?" Steve questioned, inching towards his shield which was sitting on the couch. The severe looking man at the table smirked, causing Steve to shudder. "He is Death, Captain Rogers. He contacted Sir about developing weapons for Dean Winchester, John Constantine, Jason Todd, and Wade Wilson," JARVIS answered. Steve stared wide eyed at the being sitting at his table, "is there anything else you need Captain?" JARVIS intoned. "No, I'm all set, thank you JARVIS," Steve murmured. "Of course Captain," the British voice said leaving silence to reign in Steve's suit.

Steve took the opportunity to assess the man in front of him as he was clearly doing to Steve. He was gaunt, with hollowed cheeks and a sharp nose. Overall he did not look like much, but it was the dark, deep set eyes that held something beyond intelligence and wisdom that ensured Steve to wait for the man to speak first. A patronizing smile slipped over Death's face before a smooth voice addressed the Captain, "how's Dean?" It was certainly not the topic Steve was expecting and his face showed his shock and confusion. "Not sleeping, but I expect that's due to the recent circumstances and post battle stress. He's not willing to admit that he needs help, or that we could help him," Steve remarked as succinctly as possible. This caused a brief amused chuckle to escape from Death, "you really should have read his file Captain Rogers." Steve's head snapped back in shock, "he isn't a serial killer, I could see that from one conversation," Steve insisted before realizing his mistake as Death raised an eyebrow. "Of course not, well not in the conventional sense. But, that doesn't mean the file is wrong about all aspects of his life, because I can guarantee, you will not be able to find out the whole story from Dean," Death uttered causing Steve to frown. "So when Dean implied he had seen worse than aliens, that is what keeps him awake," Steve surmised with a quick glance at Death. "Precisely Captain Rogers," Death nodded as he rose to leave. "Wait, so why are you here talking to me? I know I need to connect with Dean if our teams are going to be able to work together," Steve began, looking at Death for confirmation. The man just stared back at Steve, waiting, "he did mention his brother, Sam." At that, Death's eyebrows rose, "did he now, interesting." Steve opened his mouth to ask again why Death was here, but the man was gone, leaving a gaping and frustrated Steve.

Dean rubbed his face, tired and annoyed at nothing in particular. Switching on the lights in his bedroom the hunter almost jumped out of his skin when he noticed Death sitting on his bed. "Jesus Christ, warn a guy will you," Dean exclaimed causing Death to smirk. "Don't be dramatic Dean. I heard you mention Sam to Captain Rogers, doesn't really seem like something you'd do," Death remarked causing Dean to grind his teeth. "Tell me about it, one second it seems like Rogers is going to tell me his life story, the next I'm talking about how Sammy used to love his comics. He just has one of those faces that put you at ease and makes someone seem trustworthy, I don't like it," Dean snarled, feeling agitated about the whole situation. "Enough about that, why are you here? Come to actually help or just be cryptic like usual?" Dean snorted, watching as Death narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Castiel is able to assist you with finding the correct spell, why haven't you contacted him?" Dean groaned at Death's suggestion, "you know why, they're out of the game and I'm not dragging Cas or Sam back in," Dean snapped, there was no way he was putting either of them in harm's way. Death nodded in acceptance but still spoke, "just know Dean, the longer it takes for you to find the key to Heaven's vault, the more enemies you will collect." Death's parting shot sent a shiver down Dean's spine. It was bad enough they had to deal with Thanos, Dean just hopped the lure of the Soul Gem's power didn't corrupt anyone else.


End file.
